Top Stocks Upgrades/Downgrades May 24, 2013

UPGRADES

Whiting Petroleum (NYSE:WLL) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust – SunTrust upgraded Whiting Petroleum due to valuation and upcoming catalysts that include results from its first Bakken Silt and Sanish down-spacing tests, Niobrara results, and potential monetization of its Potle EOR field. Price target raised to $58 from $51

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital

Pandora (NYSE:P) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital – RBC Capital upgraded Pandora citing strong Q1 results driven by improving fundamentals, robust user metrics, growing mobile monetization, and recovering computer growth monetization. Price target raised to $24 from $16

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird – Baird upgraded Sherwin-Williams following yesterday’s analyst meeting citing increased conviction in normalized earnings growth driven by improving U.S. housing fundamentals, raw material costs, and the pending Comex acquisition. Price target raised to $205 from $180.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS – UBS upgraded Procter Gamble following news that AG Lafley has rejoined as Chairman and CEO. The analyst said Lafley has proven he can turn P&G in the past and the leadership qualities to re-align the organization along a few core principals. Price target raised to $95 from $75

DOWNGRADES

Saks (NYSE:SKS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus – Argus downgraded Saks due to valuation. Price target is $16

Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE:PNK) downgraded to Sell from Underperform at CLSA – CLSA downgraded Pinnacle citing rich valuation and believes shares are priced to perfection. Price target remains $16

Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) downgraded at Wedbush – As previously reported, Wedbush downgraded Salesforce.com to Neutral from Outperform. The firm downgraded shares due to the significant decline it Q1 deferred commission expenditures, an indication that new sales activity in the quarter was down substantially. Price target lowered to $42 from $51

Melco Crown (NASDAQ:MPEL) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie – Macquarie downgraded Melco Crown due to valuation but raised estimates on higher market share growth forecasts and estimates. Price target raised to $24.10 from $18.60

Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities

Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord – Canaccord downgraded Cirrus Logic citing management’s updated long-term growth targets for gross margin declines in the mid-40’s due to pricing pressures in smartphones. Price target lowered to $18 from $25.

NEW COVERAGE

LeapFrog (NYSE:LF) re-initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital – Target $12

HEADLINES

Pandora’s (P) FQ1 net losses widened to $28.6M from $20.2M as the Internet radio company’s expenses outpaced its revenue growth of 55% to $125.5M. Losses per share were in line at -$0.10. Despite the losses, shares jumped 11.9% premarket after Pandora increased its FY earnings guidance, saying it now expects EPS of -$0.02 to +$0.08. During FQ1, listening hours soared 35% to 4.18B

Sears Holdings (SHLD) shares plunged 12.3% pre-market after a Q1 report that was much worse than expected, with earnings hurt by the cool Spring weather. The retailer swung to net losses of $279M from a profit of $189M as adjusted losses per share came in at -$1.29, while revenue dropped 9% to $8.5B but did beat estimates. Sears’ online business rose 20% on year, while the company might sell its service agreement business to raise cash

Hulu has reportedly received buyout offers from DirecTV (DTV) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) in a first round of bidding for the Internet TV company, whose owners are Disney (DIS) and News Corp (NWS), as well as Comcast (CMCSA) unit NBCUniversal. Guggenheim Partners, which is helping with the sale, isn’t saying if private-equity firms are joining the chase.

Dish (DISH) is reportedly moving closer to getting financing for its $25.5B offer for Sprint (S), receiving signed commitment letters from five banks for $9B. Dish hasn’t yet paid commitment fees, as Charlie Ergen is waiting for Sprint’s board to declare Dish’s proposal potentially superior to SoftBank’s (SFTBF.PK) $20.1B bid. Meanwhile, Sprint and SoftBank have received all the necessary state regulatory approvals for their transaction

Procter & Gamble (PG) has taken what it hopes is no gamble by reappointing A.G. Lafley as CEO to replace the retiring Bob McDonald

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